'Caesar' set to return unmasked to Congress as Syria seeks sanctions relief

The Assad regime defector, previously known by the pseudonym Caesar, is set to testify again before the US Congress amid efforts by the current Syrian government to get the sanctions named after him removed.

The Syrian American Council (SAC), a US-based Syrian advocacy organisation, announced on the social media platform X that it had facilitated Farid al-Madhhan’s forthcoming appearance before Congress.

"The Syrian American Council is honoured to announce that Farid al-Madhhan, known globally by his code name 'Caesar', will testify before Congress next week," an X post from SAC said.

It added that al-Madhan was testifying at a "pivotal moment in US policy towards Syria".

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa recently completed a trip to the US, becoming the first Syrian leader ever to visit the White House.

It is believed that Al-Madhhan will try to convince US Congress members to finally remove the Caesar Act sanctions, which were named after him and imposed on Syria in 2020 when the Assad regime was in power.

Al-Madhhan, a former regime officer, fled Syria in 2014 with around 45,000 photographs showing horrific torture and mass execution of prisoners in the Assad regime jails.

The photographs were widely publicised by human rights groups and the media, and in 2020, Congress passed the Caesar Act, imposing strict sanctions on the Assad regime’s economic interests.

Al-Madhhan revealed his identity in February 2025, two months after Assad fell and was later commended by the current Sharaa for his efforts to expose the previous regime’s atrocities.

However, the US has not lifted Caesar Act sanctions, and this has hindered the Syrian government’s efforts to attract much-needed foreign investment and rebuild the country’s infrastructure after 14 years of devastating war. Earlier this year, the UN said Syria’s economic recovery could take half a century.

The Trump administration has granted six-month waivers suspending the sanctions, but only Congress can fully remove them, and they continue to act as a deterrent to potential investors, including those from outside the US.

Many US Congress members, particularly those supportive of Israel, have baulked at repealing the Caesar Act.

On his trip to the US, Sharaa met with US Congressman Brian Mast, a staunch backer of Israel, in an effort to convince him to support sanctions removal, but there has been no clear indication that Mast has changed his position.